Editing First Opium War (section)

=== Establishment of trade relations ===
[[File: AMH-6145-NA View of Canton.jpg|left|thumb|View of Guangzhou with merchant ship of the [[Dutch East India Company]], c. 1665]]

Direct maritime trade between Europe and China began in 1557 when the [[Portuguese Empire]] leased an outpost from the Ming dynasty in [[Macau]]. Other European nations soon followed the Portuguese lead, inserting themselves into the existing Asian maritime trade network to compete with Arab, Chinese, Indian, and Japanese merchants in intraregional commerce.{{sfn|Gray|2002|pp=22–23}} After the [[Spanish conquest of the Philippines]], the exchange of goods between China and Europe accelerated dramatically. From 1565, the [[Manila Galleon]]s brought silver into the Asian trade network from mines in [[Viceroyalty of Peru|South America]].<ref>Carrera Stampa, Manuel. "La Nao de la China." ''Historia Mexicana'' 9 no. 33 (1959) 97–118.</ref>{{page range too broad|date=September 2021}} China was a primary destination for the precious metal, as the imperial government mandated that Chinese goods could only be exported in exchange for silver [[bullion]].<ref name="Goldstone-2016">{{Cite book |last=Goldstone |first=Jack A. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mOu_DQAAQBAJ&q=chinese+european+bullion&pg=PT365 |title=Revolution and Rebellion in the Early Modern World: Population Change and State Breakdown in England, France, Turkey, and China, 1600–1850 |publisher=Routledge |year=2016 |isbn=978-1-315-40860-6 |edition=25th Anniversary}}</ref>{{page needed|date=September 2021}}<ref name="Mann-2011">[[Charles C. Mann]] (2011) pp. 123–163.</ref>{{page range too broad|date=September 2021}}

British ships began to appear sporadically around the coasts of China from 1635 on.<ref>Spence (1999) p. 120.</ref> Without establishing formal relations through the Chinese [[Tributary system of China|tributary system]], by which most Asian nations were able to negotiate with China, British merchants were only allowed to trade at the ports of [[Zhoushan]], [[Xiamen]] (or Amoy), and Guangzhou.{{sfn|Spence|1999|p=120}} Official British trade was conducted through the auspices of the [[British East India Company]], which held a [[royal charter]] for trade with the Far East. The East India Company gradually came to dominate Sino-European trade from its position in India and due to the strength of the [[Royal Navy]].<ref name="Bernstein 286">{{Cite book |last=Bernstein |first=William J. |author-link=William J. Bernstein |title=A splendid exchange: how trade shaped the world |publisher=Atlantic Monthly Press |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-87113-979-5 |location=New York |page=286}}</ref>

[[File:View of Canton factories 2.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|View of the [[Thirteen Factories|European factories]] in Guangzhou]]
Trade benefited after the newly risen [[Qing dynasty]] relaxed maritime trade restrictions in the 1680s. [[Formosa]] ([[Taiwan]]) came under Qing control in 1683 and rhetoric regarding the tributary status of Europeans was muted.{{sfn|Spence|1999|p=120}} Guangzhou became the port of preference for incoming foreign trade. Ships did try to call at other ports, but these locations could not match the benefits of Guangzhou's geographic position at the mouth of the Pearl River, nor did they have the city's long experience in balancing the demands of [[Beijing]] with those of Chinese and foreign merchants.<ref name="Van Dyke 6">{{Cite book |last=Van Dyke |first=Paul A. |title=The Canton trade: life and enterprise on the China coast, 1700–1845 |publisher=Hong Kong University Press |year=2005 |isbn=962-209-749-9 |location=Hong Kong |pages=6–9}}</ref> From 1700 onward Guangzhou was the centre of maritime trade with China, and this market process was gradually formulated by Qing authorities into the "[[Canton System]]".<ref name=" Van Dyke 6" /> From the system's inception in 1757, trading in China was extremely lucrative for European and Chinese merchants alike as goods such as tea, porcelain, and silk were valued highly enough in Europe to justify the expenses of travelling to Asia. The system was highly regulated by the Qing government. Foreign traders were only permitted to do business through a body of Chinese merchants known as the [[Cohong]] and were forbidden to learn Chinese. Foreigners could only live in one of the [[Thirteen Factories]] and were not allowed to enter or trade in any other part of China. Only low-level government officials could be dealt with, and the imperial court could not be lobbied for any reason excepting official diplomatic missions.<ref>Hucker, Charles O. (1958). "Governmental Organization of the Ming Dynasty". ''Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies''. Harvard-Yenching Institute: 38.</ref> The Imperial laws that upheld the system were collectively known as the Prevention Barbarian Ordinances ({{lang|zh|防範外夷規條}}).<ref name="Peyrefitte-1792">Alain Peyrefitte, ''The Immobile Empire – The first great collision of East and West – the astonishing history of Britain's grand, an ill-fated expedition to open China to Western Trade, 1792–94'' (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1992), pp. 520–545</ref>{{page range too broad|date=September 2021}} The Cohong were particularly powerful in the [[Old China Trade]], as they were tasked with appraising the value of foreign products, purchasing or rebuffing said imports and charged with selling Chinese exports at an appropriate price.<ref name="Fay-2000d">Fay (2000) pp. 38–45, 55–54, 60–68.</ref>{{page range too broad|date=September 2021}} The Cohong was made up of between (depending on the politics of Guangzhou) 6 to 20 merchant families. Most of the merchant houses these families ruled had been established by low-ranking [[Mandarin (bureaucrat)|mandarins]], but several were Cantonese or Han in origin.<ref>Fay (2000) pp. 62–64.</ref> Another key function of the Cohong was the traditional bond signed between a Cohong member and a foreign merchant. This bond stated that the receiving Cohong member was responsible for the foreign merchant's behavior and cargo while in China.<ref name="Fay-2000h">Fay (2000) p. 65.</ref> In addition to dealing with the Cohong, European merchants were required to pay customs fees, measurement duties, provide gifts, and hire navigators.<ref name="Fay-2000h" />

Despite restrictions, silk and porcelain continued to drive trade through their popularity in Europe, and an insatiable demand for Chinese tea existed in Britain. From the mid-17th century onward around 28 million kilograms/61.6 million pounds of silver were received by China, principally from European powers, in exchange for Chinese products.<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A21388322 Early American Trade], BBC</ref>